Snowboarding has evolved rapidly. What was once a minor sport, has now joined the mainstream. Yet snowboard riders have had to accustom themselves to using the physical plant that was developed for skiers. One hurdle for snowboarders is riding a chairlift, which was designed for easy on and off loading by skiers. The stance and binding system for snowboards is quite different from skis. Namely, the snowboard rider's feet are perpendicular to a single board, whereas a skier's feet are in-line with a pair of skis. As a result of these differences, a skier can move each foot independently to skate through lift lines and onto the chairlift, while a snowboarder has no such capability.
In order to ride chairlifts, snowboard riders must manually release one of the boots from its binding, and use this free boot as leverage to maneuver through the lift line and board the chairlift. Once on the chairlift, the board hangs from the fixed boot, straining the leg with the weight of the board. To alleviate this repetitive strain, boarders often rest the board on top of the free boot. Snowboards, however, have sharpened metal edges that are designed for carving turns in the snow and ice. As a consequence, the tops of snowboard boots, which are usually made of leather or fabric, often become marred and cut from repeated exposure to the board. Also, the metal edges of the snowboard may dull due to such repeated contact. Moreover, part of the attraction of snowboarding is that the participant wears soft-sided boots, which are quite dissimilar to the hard plastic sheathed boots of skiers. Snowboard boots provide a full range of biomechanical motion and are very comfortable. Therefore, any solution must retain the desirable qualities of snowboard boots, while still protecting the boot from damage and lessening the strain on the snowboarder's legs. As snowboarding is such a new sport, this problem has yet to have been addressed in any meaningful way.
One partial solution is a snowboard support and tether as described by Gomez et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,729. This invention comprises a harnessing system to support the board while riding the chairlift and to also tether the board to the rider. The user wears a harness that is composed of shoulder straps, a waist belt, and a strap that attaches to the snowboard. To ride a chair lift, the user gets on normally, but once aboard, the user cinches up the straps to support the weight of the snowboard. The weight is then distributed to the shoulder harness and waist belt, thereby alleviating some of the strain on the fixed boot.
An invention that seeks to protect athletic shoes is described by Brncick et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,060. This apparatus is constructed of plastic and is molded to the particular shape of a user's shoe. It comprises a covering for the distal end of a shoe, and is designed to protect the toes and the shoe from excessive injury. The apparatus is especially designed for sports, like skateboarding, where the participant drags a foot and potentially causes harm to the toes. This invention, however, is mainly designed for protecting the toes from injury, rather than the shoe itself.
An object of the present invention is to protect the free boot of a snowboarder from being cut or marred by the inside edge of the snowboard during the ride up a chairlift.
A further object of the present invention is to alleviate the strain on the fixed boot by enabling the free boot to carry part of the load during the chairlift ride.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a boot protector that does not impair the biomechanical motion of the foot.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a one-piece boot protector that is easy to use and simple to manufacture.